Honeywell Sues Apple, 33 Others Over LCD Patent

Honeywellannounced late Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against Apple and 33 other electronics companies claiming infringement of a liquid crystal display (LCD) patent.

Honeywellis lawsuit claims the companies have infringed on a its patent for technology that increases the brightness of images and reduces the appearance of certain interference effects on a LCD. A spokesman for Honeywell told The Mac Observer that the United States patent in question is number 5,280,371, filed in July of 1992 and granted in January of 1994.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from each company.

The company said the technology is being used in a variety of consumer electronics products, from notebook computers to digital still cameras and personal digital assistants, among many. The companyis lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the district of Delaware, asks for an injunction to prohibit selling products that infringe on its patent.